KUALA LUMPUR – The rise of Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin is a promising sign for the future of Malaysia’s mixed doubles category, says national mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.
The world number eight pair shared their thoughts following the impressive performance of their teammate, ranked world number 23, who finished as runners-up in the Super 750 China Masters – the best achievement of their career so far.
The duo battled for 92 minutes against world number two Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping before narrowly losing 21-23, 25-23, 21-16 in the final last week.
It was also Pang Ron and Su Yin’s first final on the World Tour, where they took home US$40,250 (RM180,000) for their efforts in Shenzhen.
“Their rise is a really good sign for the mixed doubles category, as we need more younger pairs to step up alongside us. Now, I can say we are no longer alone in this category, and I’m impressed to see the significant improvements they have made.
“Sparring with them regularly will also help all of us improve, allowing us to keep performing at our best in every tournament,” said Ee Wei during a press conference following a partnership ceremony between Affin Group and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) earlier today.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie expressed confidence that the upcoming World Tour Finals (WTF) would serve as a crucial stepping stone for him and his partner to elevate their performance, with their sights set on clinching the Malaysia Open title in January.
The WTF, a prestigious BWF event offering prize money of US$2.5 million (RM11.88 million), is scheduled to take place in Hangzhou next month and is open only to the top eight singles players and doubles pairs in the world.
“This is the time for us to push ourselves and see how far we can go in the WTF. It’s a very important tournament for us, and qualifying for it hasn’t been easy – we’ve had to work hard throughout the past year.
“Playing against some of the world’s top shuttlers in this tournament will help us improve and prepare for the Malaysia Open.
“We aim to win the Malaysia Open next year, especially for the fans who have supported us over the years,” said Tang Jie.
For the record, Tang Jie and Ee Wei fell short of replicating their Malaysia Open quarter-final success in 2023, as they were ousted by Japanese duo Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito in the second round of this year’s tournament. — November 29, 2024